NOSTRAMUS
1997
Spon, Caroline Nische, MC13


photo:
Hugh Byrne

The alchemy that is Nostramus has been around for a long time, manifesting itself in various incarnations going right back to the time of Punk. The Big Eye harnessed this power for a time, but it just wasn't a sound enough church to accommodate the chaotic uplifting magic that is Spon & Nostramus.

During the summer of 1995, Spon witnessed the excitement of the unfurling drum'n'bass massive, musical horizons expanding rapidly, new beats opening whole universes to explore, and some of the wickedest parties, led by the Exodus Collective and their renegade sound system. He could not resist. These experiences led to profound inspiration, which in turn focused on capturing moods and atmospheres in an invigorating new musical expression.

To avoid the inevitable post-party come down, Nostramus would compose new songs, trying to behold, distil and capture the atmosphere of those transcendental moments. Soon, with enough ideas ready to go, it was time to introduce other people to the project. MC13 and Derek E. Smith were there all along, collecting samples and data, but the cherries on the cake were still to come.

Meanwhile, The Big Eye seemed deeply entrenched in a terminally imploding Techno scene, so Nostramus became the ideal way for Spon to explore these new and exciting soundscapes. The first album which came from this exploration is an inspiring, powerful and genuine musical achievement. Called Earthlights, it was released in Europe in July 1997 and America in March 1998. Earthlights has contributions from Prince Malachi, Danny Nugent, Derek E. Smith, Caroline Nische and the MC13.

July 2006 update...
Follow-up to Eartlights
Spon, Nostramus's main man, is currently taking stock of scores of
tunes, tracks, tapes, mixes etc
The aim of course is the production
of the long anticipated follow-up to
the 1998 “Eartlights” album.

Nostramus would now like to hear
from interested parties that may want
to licence this new product for
distribution.
There is a wealth of material available
within the ‘archives’ of Spon, including
many master tapes and outtakes from
The Big Eye, The Bud Brothers,
The Hidden Core and of course Nostramus.
Having had a listen to some of this
previously released and unreleased
material, it is apparent that the music
of Steve Spon and Nostramus still
sounds as fresh and crisp today in
2006 as it did 8 years or more ago.

The Music of Nostramus was always
at home in the future!

Watch this space for further news.

The Nostramus '98 line-up had contributions from artists on the last album (Caroline Nische, MC13 and Danny Nugent) plus DJ Tryst, Flow (percussion), Riad Abji (bass), Fez (guitar), MC Sufferer and Merlin (sitar and bodhran).

August 2004
In 2003, Nostramus released 'Hero of Bamboo stick'
Which was a collaboration with 'Check-One-Two' It came out on a Vinyl 12"
White Label by ' Jolt-Recordings'.

Further releases are planned for the future
please watch this space!